Quarterly report Q4 – 2018 Australian Small

Transcript:Quarterly report Q4 – 2018 Australian Small:
Quarterly report Q4 – 2018 Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman The fourth quarter showed continued growth for ASBFEO in both the Advocacy and Assistance space. We were particularly pleased to see a number of recommendations from the inquiries we have conducted over the past two and a half years reflected in government announcements during the final quarter. Recommendations from our Payment Times and Practices Inquiry, conducted in April 2017, are reflected in: the commitment by the federal government to pay SMEs within 20 calendar days for contracts up to $1 million, by July 2019 a new contract clause included in the Commonwealth Contracting Suite that requires all subcontractors working on a government project to have the same terms and conditions as the prime contractor of that project the commitment by the federal government to have a target of 35% of all government contracts up to $20 million to go to SMEs. Following our Payment Times Review in November 2018, the federal government committed to ensure large businesses pay SMEs within 20 days as a condition of future government contracts and a requirement that large businesses with $100 million turnover publish payment information annually on a reporting framework. More recently, in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the government committed to introducing five-day payment terms between government agencies and small businesses where e-invoicing is in place. Recommendations from our Affordable Capital for SME Growth Inquiry, released in June 2018, are reflected in the: commitment by federal government to introduce the Australian Business Securitisation Fund commitment to facilitate the development of an Australian Business Growth Fund with the financial services sector review of the Personal Property Securities Register to make it more accessible and workable for SMEs. 2 We jointly released the Borrowing from fintech lenders guide with theBankDoctor.org and continued working closely with the Australian Finance Industry Association, Fintech Australia and theBankDoctor.org on the implementation of the Code of Lending Practice for fintech balance sheet lenders offering online business loans, released in July 2018. The seven major fintech lenders are signed up to the Code and an independent Code Compliance Committee will monitor compliance. Our workload assisting small business disputes is increasing, with disputes falling under the Franchising, Oil and Horticulture codes now managed by our office. And from 1 March 2019, we will offer a Small Business Concierge Service to assist small businesses in dispute with the ATO.